The Long Forgotten Love Story
by Ezekiellia
Summary: Every romance while it lasts, is a story worth telling. An ancient love story, which forged a great and well-known kingdom, has never drawn our attention or been told. My first fanfiction story, please review honestly.
1. Violent First Impression

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in the Manga/Anime InuYasha.

Sometimes, love doesn't last forever. Time passes, leaves fall, mountains crumble, and people change. Not every love story has a happy ending. But every romance while it lasts, is a tale worthy of telling. Forgotten tales from back in the day, when happiness and fun was what it was all about, when life was about learning what you did not yet know. Back when sacrificing yourself for the safety of the ones you love was not yet part of the equation, although that was what put a full stop to Inu no Taisho's failed life...

The colour of navy blue blending softly into a tint of yellowish white was always a very magnificent sight, something that one could see during the few moments before sunrise, although few of us really bother to wake up so early just to see it. The sky was beautifully cloudless, the air was cold and the earth was damp from many days of rain, which was typical of the season. Most people were still sound asleep in their houses in the many remote villages scattered across Japan.

Beneath a tall, green mountain, clearly visible, was a great castle, surrounded by colossal stone walls. Inside the big gate, leading up to the palace within, were a set of long, stone stairs, inside a large, paved square. The stairs were lined with a deep red carpet. The entire place looked luxuriously laid out and extremely expensive to live in. But this was no ordinary castle. It was well hidden away from the sight of most people, because this was the castle of a demon.

Something wasn't quite right, either. Although it was barely dawn, there was a bright glow of lighted torches right outside the castle gate, moving quickly.

"Charge!" A loud, piercing female voice broke through the silence of the night, "Today, we shall take over this castle!"

The huge army of yokai furiously started to attack the castle. The guards were, of course, immediately alerted, but by then the gate was already severely damaged and the castle wall was crumbling.

A servant dashed into the bedroom of the lord of the castle.

"My lord!" He shouted in panic, "The enemy is attacking!"

The young lord sat up in bed, still half asleep. He shook his head, opened his eyes slightly and peered at the distressed servant.

"Huh?" He mumbled, "The boiled eggs are cracking?!"

"No, no, my lord! The dog demons from our neighbouring kingdom are attacking our castle!"

"What?" The young lord cried out, looking out the window at the barely rising sun, "Already? I haven't even had breakfast yet!"

Before the servant could say another word, the young lord scrambled out of bed. He charged across the bedroom, his long fluffy mokomoko trailing behind him.

"My lord!" The servant barreled on, "I understand that it has only been two months since you took your father's place as the lord of the castle, but you must lead us in battle and protect your people!"

"Yeah, yeah, I sure will, don't worry!" The young lord said back while pulling on his socks and shoes and armor. He may have been young and inexperienced, but his sense of responsibility for his people was incomparable. He had dressed, washed his face, tied up his silver hair and drank a whole huge pot of tea in 30 seconds flat. He was about to barge out the door when he suddenly stopped.

"Oh, I forgot!" He wailed, as he ran to his bed and pulled out a sheathed sword from under it, "Tetsusaiga! I can't fight without you!"

The sun had risen by the time the young lord made it to the watchtower at the front of the castle.

"My lord!" The soldier on the watchtower called out, "You must be careful!"

"Keh!" Was the reply he got from his lord. Although he acted cool and confident, the young lord was quite amazed at the sight in front of him. From the watchtower, he could get full view of the battlefield in front of his castle.

The dirt and dust was stirred up into the air and formed a thick mist, which glowed orangey yellow under the light of the rising sun. The young lord could see his men desperately battling the enemy, as the different coloured demonic auras swirled around in a mess. All he could smell with his sensitive nose was dirt, blood, dirt, blood, more dirt, and more blood. There was a mixture of different battle tactics. Suddenly, from somewhere a huge bolt of fire flew out and hit the castle wall just below the watchtower, jerking the platform terribly and making the soldier fall flat on his face.

But that was by far not what truly caught the young dog demon's attention. Shrouded in the mist, but clearly distinguishable, was a giant, pure white dog. The sheer size of it was terrifying, and it was tearing through the guards and soldiers of his castle like meat on a cutting board. The dog seemed to have no fear, and seemed to be determined in doing just one thing - kill. Its jaws and claws were covered with gore, and its pure white coat was stained scarlet, matching its bright red frenzied eyes. But the huge dog's most unique and eye catching feature was the deep blue crescent moon upon its forehead.

"Well, I usually don't slay my own kind, but..." The young lord stopped. Then suddenly, he leaped right out of the watchtower. Pulling out the sword well known for being larger than its sheath, he flew across the battlefield with amazing elegance, aiming the blade of Tetsusaiga straight at the neck of the white beast.

"Kaze no Kizu!"

He cut through the wind scar with great accuracy, unleashing five huge storms of golden light which lit up the gloomy battlefield. As he landed on the moist ground, the young lord put his sword back in his sheath and looked around him. The dog was nowhere to be seen.

"That was it?" He questioned, "Not much of a lethal beast..."

He should have known better. Because right then, he felt claws on his back.

"Argh!"

He jumped away, bleeding slightly, to find the beast behind him.

"You ugly old piece of ****!" He yelled at the dog.

Somehow, his words enraged the huge dog more than he expected, since a yelling battle of insults was what usually comes before a proper fight, and hardly anyone really gets offended. He was soon to find out why. The oversized canine spun around in a whirlwind, and shrunk to become a beautiful young woman. She had perfectly straight silver hair just like his, and she seemed thin and agile. The woman wore a set of delicate, light blue armor that shone in the morning light. Her claws were, in some interesting method, painted a dark red. Her shoulders were framed with fur, and the blue moon stood out on her forehead. Her eyes were fixed unmoving on his, her glare so cold and emotionless it seemed to freeze the very air around her.

"Oh, you're...uh...not old...or ugly..." The young lord mumbled, "Well, in that case...I shall not play easy on you!"

With that, he whipped out Tetsusaiga and charged in her direction. She, too, drew out her sword, which was much smaller and shinier than his. But she stood there unmoving, not making a sound. No emotion was shown on her face. No fear, no panic. Her face was a mask. This surprised the young lord to the point of uncertainty. But he wasn't the type to stand there and wait for his enemy to move.

"This is for my broken castle!" He yelled, as he swung the Tetsusaiga at her face. She barely dodged the blow, but her speed certainly surprised the young lord, who was used to beating enemies to a pulp with ease. He didn't give up.

"This is for my smashed gate!"

He swung the Tetsusaiga to her left side and missed.

"This is for my dead guards!"

He swung the Tetsusaiga to her right side and missed.

"This is for my lost sleep!"

He swung the Tetsusaiga at her feet and missed.

"This is for scratching me!"

He swung the Tetsusaiga at her head and missed.

"And THIS," He howled, "Is for the breakfast that I never got to eat! Curse you to hell!"

He swung the Tetsusaiga, and cut through the wind scar. Once the dusty, choking cloud of dirt had cleared, the young lord saw the woman, surprisingly, in one piece. She had stuck her sword into the ground, and was now panting heavily.

"That served you right!" He taunted.

"You..." The woman muttered under her breath, speaking for the first time.

"What was that?"

"You...make too much noise!"

She pulled the sword from the ground and with uncanny speed she leaped into the air and aimed her sword straight towards the young dog demon lord. He was once again surprised, as he thought she could no longer move. They slashed at each other violently. Awful orange sparks flew everywhere as their swords crossed. Then, suddenly, both of them froze, and stood on the ground, not moving a muscle. This was because they found that they both had a blade at their neck.

"A draw?" The young lord said loudly.

The woman smirked, not moving her sword from his neck. Nor did he move his.

"You fight well...for a woman," said the young lord.

"You fight well, for some_thing_ that whines about childish matters on a battlefield," The woman replied coldly, "What is your name?"

"Toga'o, lord of the Inu Daiyokai of the west," He said, "But most of my people call me Inu no Taisho. I hope you have a name too?"

"A general and a lord, I see. My name is Inukimi, I am the eldest daughter of the eastern dog-demon kingdom's king."

"Princess Inukimi. How nice to meet you." Inu no Taisho said ironically. He sensed that their brief conversation was at an end. Then, as if they could read each other's minds, both of them removed their swords from each other's necks at the same time. It was quite amazing how they could have had a conversation with blades at their necks in the first place. Inukimi signaled her soldiers with a simple hand gesture, and they all withdrew from attacking the castle.

"Today, we retreat," Inukimi said formally, looking Inu no Taisho in the eye, "But this is not the end. I will be back another day to claim your castle. Until then, stay alive. I will be the one to kill you."

She stopped, about to leave, but turned back again.

"Uh, what are you doing?" She questioned.

Inu no Taisho stood there dazed, staring at her with a seemingly mindless grin on his face. Inukimi did the only thing she could think of. She marched up to him, and gave him one huge slap across the face. That certainly snapped him out of his daze, and of course, made him snap in anger. But just as he was about to yell, "What did you do that for?!" in her face, he saw that she was already gone. He sighed in disappointment.

"My lord!" The annoying servant who woke him up yelled, running out onto the battlefield, "The enemy has retreated!"

_As if I don't already know, huh?_ Thought Inu no Taisho.

"My lord!" The servant rambled on, "What should we do now? Persue and eliminate them?"

"No," replied the general, "Now, we have breakfast."

He slapped the man on the back, hitting him just a fraction too hard for an ordinary congratulatory back pat, to pay him back for being so unbearably annoying. Inu no Taisho then walked back to his castle, his blood stained but still fluffy mokomoko trailing behind his magnificent figure.

~~End of First Chapter~~


	2. Discovery and Doubt

The wet road and puddles on the ground beautifully reflected the shining stars of the peaceful night sky. There was no moon, but the stars were unusually bright, as this was an entirely cloudless night. The distant galaxies, milky way and planets, among other things, helped decorate the extravagant landscape.

But all of a sudden, the stillness of the night was broken by the sound of the turning wheels of a carriage. The puddles were splashed all over the road and the ground became muddy. The carriage was dusty, but luxuriously decorated. It was clearly headed to a nearby forest.

The forest could not be more remote. The thick bushes and tall trees covered the inside of it from the rest of the world. And in the middle, gathered around a tremendously huge tree, were many, many tiny houses. At the very center of them, balancing the look of the entire colony, was a large, glowing palace.

It was just after sunset, and all the citizens of the dog demon kingdom of the east were grouped in their homes, keeping warm in front of their fires.

The fancy carriage drove across the road, followed by dozens of dog demon soldiers. Everyone the carriage passed bowed down in respect and kindly made way for it. After some time, it reached the doors of the palace, unloaded its only occupant, and disappeared somewhere behind a tangle of vines.

"The princess is back!" Someone called across the huge entrance hall, and immediately, preparations were being made to welcome the returned princess.

One side of the great hall split into two staircases which lead straight to the living quarters of royalty. The last room down a long hall was that of the king. For a king's bedroom, it was fairly modest, for this king did not like to flaunt his wealth, and cared only for the practical uses of the items he owned. It was a quality that was fairly admirable, and was unfortunately not inherited by his offspring.

Without stopping, Inukimi sped up the staircase to see the king. He was found sitting at his table, carefully inspecting samples of wood that was to be used to make sword sheaths for the army. He looked up and saw the princess standing in the doorway.

"Inukimi," He said plainly, "Have you come to bring good news to me?"

The meeting was depressing in itself. Inukimi's hair was a disastrous mess and her clothes were tatty and dirty from the battle. She had come straight to her father from the battlefield, because she obviously did not have any good news for him. No, she had bad news, very bad. Feeling suddenly more ashamed than ever of herself, Inukimi sunk to her knees in front of the king.

"Father," She said, looking down at the floor, "I have failed you. I did not win the battle. I could not even win a duel against a young lord I have never heard of before. I am sorry."

The king looked more surprised than angry. He got up from his seat, and approached his kneeling daughter.

"You lost to someone?" He questioned, standing over her.

"I could not defeat him."

"Oh?" The king said with a rather playful attitude, "In all the years you have trained, you have not yet encountered anyone you could not defeat, am I right?"

"Precisely, father."

"This man must be special then," He said, kneeling beside her, "Rise from your knees. Both victory and defeat are a part of war, you must learn that. I have had quite enough of your arrogant attitude. Now get up."

Inukimi obediently rose from her knees, as her father left her side and absent mindedly sat back down at the table.

"I've been thinking for a while," The king started again, gazing down at the wood samples scattered all over the table, "Maybe it is indeed time to put an end to this long war between the east and the west, form and alliance between the two, and join together the two royal families. Too many of our innocent citizens have died from this war. I hope you know what I am trying to say, Inukimi."

Inukimi looked at her father, confused at what he was trying to discreetly get across to her.

"I am sorry father, I do not understand what it is that you mean. I will do what you wish, but please make yourself clearer." She replied dryly.

"What I mean, Inukimi, is..."

He stopped. He was cut off, because Inukimi had started moaning in pain. Then suddenly, she collapsed onto the floor.

"Princess!" A nearby maid shouted, "Are you alright, princess? Are you hurt?"

The maid's voice was like a distant echo to Inukimi. As if she was on one end of a long, long tunnel, and the maid was on the other. The long day, fighting, exhaustion, stress, anger, lack of rest and disappointment was truly taking a toll on her body. Plus, she had been unable to entirely avoid Inu no Taisho's Kaze no Kizu. As Inukimi's consciousness drifted away, all she could hear was the high-pitched voice of the maid calling her name. Through her blurred vision, she saw an unforgettable memory. The brainless, grinning face of the dog general she had fought earlier that day.

One week later...

Inu no Taisho lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, with his fur wrapped around his neck. His mind was very much in a muddle, as there were too many things to compute. He had only just become the lord of the castle, and learning new things was stressful. And at that moment, all he could hear was a voice repeating itself in his head, even though it had been almost a week since he heard it for the first time.

_I will be the one to kill you. I will be the one to kill you. I will be the one to kill you. I will be the one to kill you..._

"My lord!" His familiar servant said dramatically, appearing out of absolutely nowhere.

"Ahhh!"  
Inu no Taisho was so absorbed in his thoughts that the sudden words of his annoying servant made him jump. He turned towards the man, severely irritated.

"Just what is it?"

"My lord," The servant announced, seemingly oblivious to how annoyed his lord was of him, "The battle's effects have been analyzed, the results of it are as follows: 79 dead, 203 wounded, fully repairing damages to the castle walls is expected to take around three months."

"Yeah, whatever," Inu no Taisho said. He stood up, stripped off his pajamas and got dressed in his usual kimono and hakama.

"My lord, where are you going?"

"Uh..." Inu no Taisho mumbled, as he hardly knew the answer, "Out...for a walk. A walk."

And with that, he jumped out of the window, although few people jump out of a window to go for a walk. The servant followed, and looked out. Among the stars of the night sky was a huge, creamy white dog, with two iconic partings of fur upon its back. It was obviously the great dog general.

As he flew across the huge pieces of green land belonging to himself, Inu no Taisho attempted to clear his mind.

"Oh, just what is wrong with me," He growled in his dog form, "I can't forget that woman, even when I'm a dog..."

But just then, something caught his eye. Something unusual, amis the green forest in the hill beside his castle. A flash of a flickering torch; a common signal for a night raid.

~~End of Second Chapter~~


	3. Meet and Fight Again!

Behind a tree was a small group of experienced dog demon warriors. They crouched on the ground, not making a sound.

"In a minute, send out the second signal to attack," Inukimi whispered. She was dressed exactly the same as the last time she approached this castle. Last time, she had returned in defeat. But she convinced herself that she would never let that happen again.

"Princess, are you sure that it's okay?" Another female warrior questioned, "Without requesting his majesty's permission?"

"I will not fail," replied Inukimi, "I will accomplish what father wished for all his life, which was to merge the two kingdoms into one. Right now is the perfect opportunity, as the castle walls are damaged and the new lord is fairly inexperienced."  
It may not have occurred to her that she had completely misunderstood what her father had meant.

As Inukimi was about to signal the attack, she suddenly looked behind her. There was a rustling sound coming from a bush about 60 feet away. Her sensitive ears noticed it immediately.

"Shall we attack?" Asked the same female warrior, "Huh?"  
The princess was gone, even though she was beside her a moment ago.

Inukimi stealthily hurried to the thorn bush, partially hidden behind a tree. She gazed into it, then suddenly reached behind and grabbed something soft. It was the collar of a coat! Very angry that someone was eavesdropping on her, Inukimi dragged the person out from behind the bush.

"Ahhh!"

Inukimi stared in surprise. It was a young human woman, strangely dressed. Inukimi had never seen clothing so unusual, not even in foreigners. From her point of view, the girl was wearing some strange coat with a straight metal line in the middle, rough dark blue pants that looked unnaturally tight, and weird black shoes that had a shiny white patch at the front with a thin white rope crossed in a zig zag pattern at the top and tied in a bow.

"A human!" Inukimi cried in disgust, dragging the young woman by her coat collar, "What kind of strange clothes do you call those? And how did a human like _you_ get here?"  
The young woman was visibly terrified, and did not say a word. This only further enraged Inukimi as she was a princess and was not used to asking questions and not getting an answer. She raised her claws, ready to kill the unwelcome human. But that was when she sensed a dangerous presence.

"Oi!" A voice said quietly but forcefully behind Inukimi. This made her turn around and draw her sword. It was so dark, Inukimi could just see someone standing a small distance away. Despite having very acute vision herself, dogs are not cats and are not the best when it comes to seeing things in the dark.

"Let her go," the voice commanded.

Inukimi was mad. _How dare he order me around?_ She thought.

"Let her go!" The voice repeated. Annoyed, Inukimi let go of the woman. The woman promptly got the message and ran away quickly, disappearing into the woods.

"What are you doing?" The voice asked.

"None of your business, you rude wretch," Inukimi replied, standing up straight and entirely removing her sword from its sheath, "If you do not wish to be killed, move out of my way."

"You wouldn't be attempting to ambush here and attack the castle, would you?" The voice continued, not taking any notice of Inukimi's words.

Inukimi listened on, and found that the voice was familiar. Very familiar. And very, very annoying.

"Well, go home," Said the voice, "You can't take them by surprise anymore. Because..."  
He suddenly burst out laughing and screaming about how silly her plan was.

"You!" Inukimi said, infuriated, "Are that stupid dog general!"

Inu no Taisho walked out into the moonlight, coughing and spluttering from laughter overload.

"I can not stand you a minute longer!" The furious dog demoness shouted. She drew her sword and skillfully slashed at him.

Inu no Taisho never won by speed, and he was never the type to dodge blows. He drew out Tetsusaiga with great elegance, and blocked the blow from her sword. The two swords made an echoing clang as they clashed together.

"Still want to fight? Why don't you just give up already and go home?" Inu no Taisho taunted.

Inukimi backed away a few steps, and then charged towards the dog general once again. Inu no Taisho was preparing to block another blow when the most unexpected thing happened. Inukimi suddenly tripped on a rock and fell.

"Woah, lady!" Inu no Taisho cried out in surprise. Acting purely on instinct, he ran forward and caught her before she hit the ground, cradling her in his arms.

"Are you alright?" He asked. She gave him a deadly glare. It was then that he felt something cold pressed up against the base of his neck. It was...the blade of her sword.

"You are that stupid?" Inukimi said coldly, not moving from Inu no Taisho's arms, "You genuinely thought that someone with as much fighting experience as me would trip on a rock and fall?"

Careful not to get his throat slit, Inu no Taisho didn't dare movie either.

"You sure are a more crafty woman than I thought..." He whispered to her.

"Sometimes, in order to obtain what you want, one must use crafty methods," She told him.

"You think you've won the fight, do you?"

"Of course," Inukimi replied with a hint of pride in her voice, "Do you dare move?"

"No, of course not," Inu no Taisho chuckled, "But you need to ask yourself that question too."

Inukimi gasped. The blade of the Tetsusaiga was also at her neck. She was utterly shocked and speechless. In fact, her eyeballs looked as if they were about to pop right out of their sockets.

"When you are too confident and focused on your own plan," Inu no Taisho said wisely, "You can often neglect important details."  
He then tightly gripped Inukimi's right arm, allowing him to pull her blade away from his neck. Inukimi knew that she had lost the fight, and realized that Inu no Taisho was still holding her in his arms. She suddenly felt a little shy. Inukimi pushed the dog general aside, acting stubborn and angry like a child.

"That's it, go home," Inu no Taisho told her, while putting Tetsusaiga back into the sheath, "Don't try to attack again."

"You're going...to let me go?" Inukimi asked, "You're not...going to kill me?"

"I don't hurt women."  
And with that, the dog general turned his back on Inukimi and walked off into the clearing, where he transformed into his true form and beautifully flew across the night sky, back towards the tall walls of his castle.

_His figure, his creamy coat, the way he flies, is so beautiful..._thought Inukimi.

"Ah!" Inukimi put her hands to her cheeks, "What the hell am I thinking? He is my _enemy_!"

Inu no Taisho climbed back into his room through the window, took off his kimono and threw it on the floor. Then, he collapsed into bed, pulled the blankets over himself and went to sleep.

"My lord!" Screeched the annoying servant, "Back from your walk?"

The servant approached the bed.

"Oh, you are sleeping. Sorry, my lord. I shall leave at once."

It was great that he did as he said. Had he stayed a moment longer, his lord would have considered using his face as a temporary punching bag.

~~End of Third Chapter~~


	4. To Hell and Back

Half a month had passed since the last awkward sword fight between Inu no Taisho and Inukimi. The sun was shining brightly at noon, although the weather was not too hot.

"Inukimi, I love you! Will you come and live with me in my castle?" Inu no Taisho said romantically...to a boulder. The young dog demon sighed in shame.

"Pathetic," He told himself, "I'm going in the right direction for another slap to the face."

He sighed again, turned around, and sat on the boulder he was talking to. It was just when he was thinking about going home to greet the huge and hated pile of 'lord reserved' paperwork, that he felt a strong demonic aura.

"Hey, dog!" A voice boomed, "Why the long face?"

Inu no Taisho looked up to see a strange youth, flying in the air. He looked weird in that he had short, spiky purple hair, unusual even for demons. His eyes were intently fixed on the dog general, his red pupils glowing under the sunlight. He wore a tight black outfit, and in one of his hands he held a long staff with a ring at the top and a sharp, crescent moon shaped blade at the bottom.

"Who are you calling 'dog'?" Inu no Taisho barked back, "The name is Toga'o, I'm a highly respected lord!"

"Seems like you're quite forceful, dog!" The young demon shot back, "I was just looking for a worthy opponent. You're perfect for testing out my newly learned technique!"

"What? You came for a fight? Well, I was just feeling bored!" Shouted the dog general.  
Inu no Taisho pulled out Tetsusaiga and leaped ten feet into the air.

"Kaze no Kizu!"

The bolt of energy flew through the air straight at the strange demon. But to Inu no Taisho's surprise, he made no attempt to dodge or block it. Instead, he roared with laughter.

"You think something this childish could defeat the great demon Shishinki? You're dead meat, dog!"

He swung his staff in a circle and screamed, "Meidō Zangetsuha!"

A huge black orb was unleashed from his staff. It was a magnificent sight. The gigantic black ball was almost like a huge hole, sucking in everything in its way. Inside the hole, surprisingly, were stars and other shiny matter. It completely devoured the wind scar attack. The meido flew at Inu no Taisho with uncanny speed, but luckily, he was able to jump fast enough to dodge it.

"Ah!" Shishinki shrieked, "You can't do that forever!"  
With that, he threw a dozen more cursed blackholes at the dog general.

_Dammit, he can throw more than one at a time. What are those things anyway? Some sort of energy whirlpool?_ Thought Inu no Taisho.

The portals pulled in everything they hit. The valley became covered with circular holes in less than a minute, making the landscape look awfully daft. It looked more like a block of cheese than a valley. Eventually, after several minutes of of pure Meido terror, Shishinki finally stopped when he saw that Inu no Taisho was nowhere to be seen.

"Neat," Shishinki praised himself, "I can defeat anyone with this!"

"No, you can't!" Inu no Taisho barked.

"Huh?"

Inu no Taisho took Shishinki by surprise. He jumped up from beneath him, and swung his sword at Shishinki's neck, aiming straight for the kill. Shishinki didn't have enough time to hurl out another Meido Zangetsuha. All he could do was block the dog general's blade with his staff. But Inu no Taisho was not a weak opponent. He was strong, and Shishinki could barely hold his staff up with Tetsusaiga's blade pressing heavily on it.

"Surrender, and I will spare your life!" Inu no Taisho yelled in Shishinki's face.

"Never!"

Groaning and insulting each other, the two demons continued their strength competition in the form of pushing against each other's weapons.

Then, unexpectedly, a loud crack was heard. Followed by another, and another. A network of chips and cracks was forming on the blade of the Tetsusaiga. Inu no Taisho showed an expression of horror at the sight of this. But Shishinki didn't seem too pleased either, as he saw little crumbs of wood falling from his staff.

Then, all of a sudden, an almighty loud SNAP was heard. The Tetsusaiga broke in two...along with Shishinki's staff.

"Why you...my sword!" Cried Inu no Taisho, "Look what you've done to my sword!"

"My staff!" Bawled Shishinki, staring in grief at the two pieces of broken staff in his hands.

Shishinki was the one who felt sheer terror. He knew very well that without his Meido Zangetsuha, he was no match to the great dog general.

"You're going to pay for this!" Inu no Taisho shouted, furious. It was then, holding onto half of the broken Tetsusaiga, that he realized for some reason the blade had turned black. Then he remembered Totosai's words when the Tetsusaiga was first forged and given to him.

_The Tetsusaiga is a special weapon. Every time it defeats a strong demon, or object possessing strong demonic powers, it gains new abilities. So, naturally, the more you fight, the stronger the Tetsusaiga will get. Use this power wisely, Taisho-sama._

"Aha!" Inu no Taisho called out in delight, "Payback time..."

He had the most evil looking grin on his face.

"Meido Zangetsuha!" The dog general yelled. And sure enough, a great huge black orb identical to those Shishinki released earlier was fired out of the broken Tetsusaiga. It flew at an amazing speed, so fast that Shishinki had no chance of dodging it. It flew above him and one side hit him square in the face. He was not entirely sucked into it, but was completely knocked over before falling down the cliff and into the valley.

"Well, I can't help but feel your pain," Inu no Taisho muttered to his enemy, who disappeared down the cliff, "May you rest in peace. You will be missed...well, not really, but you get what I mean."

As he was about to leave to find a way to get his sword fixed, Inu no Taisho was once again shocked. The great black orb he had released from the broken Tetsusaiga had not vanished. It was slowly but surely still sucking things in. And among the debris being sucked into it, was the other half of Tetsusaiga's blade!

"Dammit!"

Not knowing the true extent of the horror of Meido Zangetsuha, or where the huge black portal lead to, Inu no Taisho jumped right into it to retrieve half of his broken sword. He saw the stars and galaxies swirl around elegantly inside the portal as he reached for the piece of Tetsusaiga. Just as his fingertips touched it, everything suddenly went dark. The young dog general found himself in an entirely lightless place, trapped and unable to locate a way out. Panic overcame him, as he looked around, only to see that whichever way he looked, all he saw was pitch black.

_Where is this?_ He thought.

Just as he started to feel slightly dismayed, he heard a growl. From the darkness, emerged a great, firey orange hellhound. Of course, Inu no Taisho was not the least bit afraid, just surprised to see a dog in a place like this. The hound leaped at him, but he dodged very easily. He was about to grab Tetsusaiga to fight the beast, when he was once again reminded that his sword was _broken_!

"Whatever! I don't care anymore!" Inu no Taisho yelled.

Marching straight up to the huge hound, he smashed its face in with his fist, and proceeded to use every inch of its body as a sandbag.

The beast gave a terrible roar, and attacked the dog general. Eventually, Inu no Taisho had to accept that for some unexplained reason, no matter how hard he beat the hellhound, he wasn't doing any damage at all.

_I can't give up. I will not die in a place like this._

Tired and out of breath, Inu no Taisho peered carefully at the hellhound. Then he suddenly noticed a tiny detail. On the middle of the beast's back, there was a large glowing gem, partially embedded in its coat. It was the only thing that shone in this dark and hellish place. It was Inu no Taisho's last light of hope.

"Alright!" He exclaimed, as he once again jumped into the air. This time, he aimed his claws directly at the spark of light in the middle of the hellhound's back.

"Don't fail me!" He shouted to himself, "I will get out of here, ALIVE!"

His claws plunged into the beast's back, and sent the huge gem flying out of it. As soon as the jewel left the beast, it howled in agony, then seemed to dissolve, leaving only a small pile of gray ash on the ground.

Inu no Taisho staggered over to where the gem lay, and picked it up. It was a beautiful thing, this stone. It was clear and shiny, yet deep blue like the sea. It was bigger than he thought, fitting perfectly into the palm of his hand. As he sighed in exhaustion and dismay, the stone began to glow, and suddenly, a blinding light shot out of it. Once Inu no Taisho could open his eyes again, he saw the most amazing sight. A round portal had opened, leading back to the normal world!

The dog general jumped out of that hell of a place. For the first time in a long time, he felt happy just being able to see the sky above him, and the ground below his feet. He smiled like a child, thankful to be back in the familiar valley again.

~~End of Fourth Chapter~~


	5. Fix My Sword!

Tetsusaiga was broken. Entirely, utterly broken. Now it was little more than two useless pieces of a blade. This fact made Inu no Taisho grind his teeth all the way to Totosai's house. That is, if you could call it a house. It was a monstrously huge demon skull, carefully hollowed out and decorated to make a suitable workshop.

"Hey! Totosai-sama! Are you home?"

Inu no Taisho barged into the wide open mouth of the demon skull. The eccentric elderly blacksmith was sitting in front of his anvil and spitting fire all over the place. He was showing off to another man who was sitting on the ground next to him.

"Oh, Taisho-sama!" Totosai said cheerfully, "What brings you here?"

"Nice to meet you, Taisho-sama!" Exclaimed Totosai's new apprentice named Kaijinbo, "Totosai has told me a lot about you!"

Inu no Taisho was about to speak when he felt a stinging pain on the front of his nose. Irritated, he facepalmed himself as hard as he could.

"I'm sorry...but you didn't need...to do that..." A tiny voice squeaked.

"Old Myoga!" Inu no Taisho said solemnly, plucking the little flea demon off his hand and resting him on his shoulder, "Behave yourself!"

"Well I have to say that out of all the demons I have encountered, Taisho-sama has the tastiest blood," said Myoga.

Inu no Taisho ignored him and got straight down to business.

"Totosai-sama, I broke the Tetsusaiga, can you fix it?" He confessed.

Totosai frowned as Inu no Taisho handed him the two pieces of the broken sword. Kaijinbo looked at his master's actions as he examined it carefully.

"I can reforge it," Totosai stated plainly, "But it seems that it has been to a place it shouldn't, and absorbed some quite ghostly powers. It may not be the same again."

"I understand that," Said Inu no Taisho, "Also, is there any way to remove the new ability it just gained? It's called Meido Zangetsuha or something like that. That huge black hole gives me the creeps."

"Meido Zangetsuha?" Totosai replied, "Yes, there probably is a way to get rid of it, but it will take a bit of time. And also, because Tetsusaiga was forged from your fangs, I'll need two more to repair it."

"Two?!" Inu no Taisho shrieked, "Are you kidding me?"

"Do you want to fix your sword or not?"

The dog general moaned and reluctantly opened his mouth.  
"Make this quick."

Totosai chuckled kindly, and then from nowhere he took out a pair of HUGE tongs. A shiny bead of sweat ran down the dog general's forehead, and he closed his eyes, not wanting to see the large and painful looking tool.

Two consecutive loud screams of agony echoed throughout the valley.

As Totosai worked on the Tetsusaiga down below, Inu no Taisho sat on the roof with Myoga, groaning and rubbing his sore gums.

"Don't be too mad, Taisho-sama, it's for the best," Myoga said, trying to sound as kind as possible.

Inu no Taisho wasn't really mad. There were too many thoughts and worries swirling around his brain; there was absolutely no room left in his head to be mad at simple things. Then he suddenly thought of something.

"Hey, Myoga, check this out," He said, taking out the big blue stone he got off the hellhound earlier, "What do you think it's made of?"

"Ohh," Myoga said, staring at the jewel 50 times his size, "I don't know, but it seems quite pretty."

"Yeah, beautiful..." Inu no Taisho absent mindedly replied, "Just like...her..."  
A million pictures of Inukimi flew through Inu no Taisho's mind, giving him a dazed and idiotic look on his face.

"Uh...Taisho...sama?" Myoga said, waving his tiny stubby little hands at the dog general, "Who is 'her'?"

"Huh?"

"Who is the woman you were talking about?"

"Ah!" Inu no Taisho said, scratching his head and blushing violently, "Nobody...just...uh...my mom. Yeah, my mom."

"Your _mom_?" Myoga said with a look of disbelief on his small face.

"Yeah," Replied the dog general, "What's wrong?"

"Urgh...uh...nothing. Nothing at all."

Just then, they heard Totosai yelling from below. Inu no Taisho was so very grateful that his awkward conversation with Myoga had ended.

"Taisho-sama!" Totosai shouted, "Can you go get something for me?"

"Sure," said the dog general, jumping off the roof and landing perfectly in the middle of the doorway, "What is it?"

"I need wood for a new sheath," Totosai explained, "Can you go and ask Bokusenō for a bit of his wood?"

Inu no Taisho remembered Bokuseno clearly. He was the old tree whose wood was used to make the powerful, barrier creating sheath of the Tetsusaiga. He was also the only tree Inu no Taisho knew of that could talk. That was unique, since not a lot of trees can talk. The dog general did not understand why Totosai would need more wood, since the sheath of the Tetsusaiga was perfectly fine. But he wanted his sword back as soon as possible, so he didn't ask any questions, and set off for the wood at once.

Bokuseno was resting, like he always did, being the tree hermit he was. He waved his leaves around in the sunlight and let photosynthesis do the rest. Then, he sensed someone standing next to him. A young man holding a huge axe.

"Hey!" The talking tree screamed, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Can't you tell what I'm doing?" Inu no Taisho replied, tapping the axe on the tree trunk, "I'm in a hurry, and this is all for a good cause, so forgive me."

Inu no Taisho raised the axe, preferring not to ask for the old tree's permission. He chose a suitable sized branch, and chopped at it. This tree's wood was particularly tough, allowing it to make sheaths that are also particularly tough.

"Arghh, be gentle!" Bokuseno said forcefully, "I remember you! Toga-kun, you just came here to ask for wood a moment ago!"

"A moment?!" Inu no Taisho shrieked as he continued to cut the tree, "Last time I came to get wood for the Tetsusaiga was ten years ago! You're really getting old, aren't you?"

Just then, the branch broke off the tree.

"Well, thanks for the wood," Said Inu no Taisho, "I'll be back someday to visit you and thank you properly, unless I'm too busy or if I forget."

With that, the dog general took off, looking awfully daft holding a huge branch in his hands.

By now, the sky had darkened. Inukimi was pacing around the edge of the huge forest, where the trees were not nearly as thick as where the palace was located. She couldn't sleep, so she had come out for a walk to breathe some fresh air. But her mind was wandering all over the place and she was hardly in the mood to relax.

"Princess, we should be returning soon," Said Inukimi's maid, who had come with her, "We should get back before midnight, or his majesty will worry."

"A little longer," replied Inukimi.

It was then that Inukimi sensed something wasn't right. She saw smoke and dust, far away, along the dark blue horizon. And she smelled...blood. A lot of it. Looking carefully into the distance, she realized that something must have happened.

"I'm going to check that place," Inukimi told her maid, "I will be back soon, do not follow me."

She changed to her true form and took off into the distance, not thinking about how troubled her maid felt after being given such orders.

Back at Totosai's place, Inu no Taisho was getting impatient.

"Hey, Totosai-sama!" Inu no Taisho shouted, "When will you be done? And what are you doing anyway?"

"You and your impatient personality," Totosai said to the frustrated dog general, "It'll be done very soon."

"You've been saying that for four hours!" The dog general shot back, "Even Kaijinbo has gone to bed by now and you still haven't finished."

"It's done."

"Really?"

"No!"

Totosai was so full of eccentric humour that he didn't even need any magic rosary beads to make the dog fall on his face.

~~End of Fifth Chapter~~


	6. Reborn by Sword

_Oh, Inukimi, why are you eating raw cheese?_

"Taisho-sama. Wake up, Taisho-sama!"

"Ah? Oh, right."

Inu no Taisho sat up. He could not believe that he had fallen asleep on the roof of Totosai's house from sheer boredom. Now the sun was rising from behind the green hills, and Kaijinbo was already up and doing chores.

"Taisho-sama, your swords are finished!" Totosai shouted from below, "Don't you want to come and see?"

"You'd better be serious this time," Inu no Taisho said as he jumped down from the roof, "And what do you mean by 'swords'? I've only got one sword!"

He entered the room, and saw Totosai laying on his futon. The eccentric blacksmith pointed to the anvil, and then fell on his back and started snoring immediately. Following his directions, Inu no Taisho approached the anvil and saw two swords with identical sheaths laid out on the ground behind it.

"My Tetsusaiga!" The dog general cried out in delight, "My Tetsu- uh...two of them?"

He picked up the two swords. From all angles, they looked the same. Feeling very confused, he unsheathed one of the swords. It was his Tetsusaiga! The Tetsusaiga was perfectly shiny, as if it had never been broken. And what's more, the blade was no longer black. It seemed as if the Meido Zangetsuha ability had left the sword completely.

_Man, I have to admit, that Totosai is good at this!_ Thought Inu no Taisho.

Then, he turned his attention to the other sword. Pulling it out from the sheath identical to that of the Tetsusaiga, he realized that it was a thin, traditional katana. It was pure white and glowed a beautiful blue under the sunlight. But something was off about this new sword. The blade was completely blunt. It didn't look as if it would be very good for cutting anything.

"Totosai, this sword..."

Inu no Taisho stopped, because the blacksmith was snoring loudly, obviously not listening to his words. He decided not to disturb the old man's sleep.

"Thank you, Totosai," The dog general whispered. He pinned both swords to his belt, and after giving Totosai a friendly smile, he left the workshop.

"Leaving already?" Kaijinbo called out to Inu no Taisho while chopping up a pile of firewood.

"Yeah, I'd love to stay, but I'm very busy at the moment. I'll find some time to stop by and visit again. Please thank your master for me!"

"I will!"

Inu no Taisho transformed into a gigantic fluffy dog and flew off into the distance.

"Oh geez, I'm very late," He growled to himself, "there will be a ton of work by the time I get back home."

As he was flying home with worry written all over his face, Inu no Taisho smelled something strange, which caused him to look down and out into the distance.

_Blood...demon blood...heaps of it..._

The smell of blood always deeply saddened Inu no Taisho. War was common among competitive yokai, and bloodshed was sometimes inevitable. But still, he personally detested the sight of death and corpses. He changed courses and headed for the source of the smell, deciding that he might not be too late to save a life or two.

As he reached a clearing, he saw the remnants of a battlefield. Landing softly on the ground and changing back to his humanoid form, Inu no Taisho saw that the land in front of him was littered with the bodies of small, impish green-skinned demons. Most of them were dead, but a few were alive and looking around for more survivors. Among the living was one who wore a thick coat and ballooning pants, obviously the leader of them all.

_Poor creatures. Looks like I'm too late to save anyone, after all._ Thought the dog general.

Just as Inu no Taisho was about to turn around and leave the miserable place, he saw something moving on the body of the closest dead imp. Surprised, he blinked and narrowed his vision. Then he saw what it was. Tiny little insect-like ghosts were crawling over the bodies of every single dead imp. Then, surprisingly, the little purple ghosts reached right into the chests of the dead demons and started to pull out spheres of blue light.

_Those things are ripping out their souls!_

Horrified with no idea of what was happening, Inu no Taisho slashed at the purple critters with his claws, but to no avail. His hands went right through the little monsters, as if they were a transparent illusion, and they carried on their soul-stealing mission completely unaffected. Never had he felt so helpless than when he saw murder happening in front of his very eyes and was not able to stop it.

Then suddenly the dog general felt a pulsing beat at his waist. He looked down, to see his new blunt sword shaking as if it wanted to be unsheathed. The sword seemed unusual to begin with, being too blunt to cut a piece of tofu. Just then, Inu no Taisho had a seemingly ridiculous thought.

_I might as well try it. I haven't got anything to lose, have I?_ He thought.

With that, he drew out the sword and swung it artfully at the closest critter. To his surprise, the blunt sword cut the little thing in half! The two halves then dissolved into the air. Laughing in accomplishment, he lifted his sword once again and gave a powerful swing into the air. A blade of light unleashed from the sword, flew across the mountain of scattered corpses and destroyed every single soul-stealing little critter.

Inu no Taisho's jaw dropped a mile when he saw that the previously dead little imp in front of him moved. The imp opened its eyes, awoke from death and got up in perfect health. So did the next imp, and the next and the next. The entire lifeless army of impish demons rose from the ground and stared at one another.

"Wow!" Inu no Taisho said in disbelief, "This sword...is amazing! It might even be more useful than my Tetsusaiga!"

Then, scratching his head, he thought, _Such a good sword needs a name, huh?_

It was then that he noticed a little piece of paper stuck to the sword sheath. Pulling it off and unfolding it, he saw that it had some words written on it. It read:

**Taisho-sama,**  
**This new sword was made from a part of the broken Tetsusaiga that had absorbed the energy of the underworld. As a result of this, it does not cut anything of this world, but can destroy beings beyond the world of the living. This includes the pall-bearers who collect the souls from the recently dead. Therefore, by killing these pall-bearers, you may bring the dead back to life. So I called this great sword 'The Coffin Cheater'.**  
**-Totosai**

"The...coffin cheater?" Exclaimed Inu no Taisho, scrunching the paper, "What an ugly name! That old guy may be good at forging weapons, but he sure isn't an expert at naming them! After all, he made the Tetsusaiga too but I named it after it easily crushed a huge steel pole."

Inu no Taisho looked around him. The little green imps were talking to each other, trying to figure out what happened. Nobody was paying any attention to him. But then he smelled something which deeply haunted him. It was the blood...of his own kind. Suddenly disturbed, Inu no Taisho ran forward and grabbed the coat collar of the imp leader with big brown pants.

"Little yokai!" He yelled in its unpleasingly ugly face, "What happened here?"

"My name is Jaken!" It screeched, struggling to get away.

"I don't care what your name is! What the hell happened here?"

Losing his temper, Inu no Taisho gave Jaken a huge wallop on the head. That certainly did the job.

"Well," Jaken said, rubbing the bump on his head, "We encountered these ferocious lizard demons, and they attacked us. But just then this huge white dog flew past and the lizards started attacking it instead of us. I doubt that dog could have survived, against those awful lizards. It's a shame, that dog was quite pretty. It had this cool blue moon on its forehead."

The moment Inu no Taisho heard the words 'blue moon', his eyeballs nearly fell out of his face. He dropped both Jaken and his sword, and ran in the direction of the scent.

"No!" He mumbled, "Inukimi...no..."  
Awful visions flew through his head.

_Don't you dare die on me! I will save you! _

**_I'm coming for you, Inukimi!_**

~~End of Sixth Chapter~~


	7. To Finally Understand

Inu no Taisho ran like a bolt of light shooting through the forest. The leaves and branches of trees seemed to shy away from his frenzied presence.

_The smell, it's coming from behind that tree!_

He approached the tall tree, and stared behind it. Someone was laying on the ground. A familiar someone.

"Inukimi!"

The dog general ran towards the tree. He was so focused on the fallen princess that he didn't even sense impending danger. But he soon heard it. Inu no Taisho turned around to see a humongous lizard, at least ten feet all. Taken by surprise, Inu no Taisho could hardly think of how he was going to overcome this new challenge.

The monster swung its tail straight at the dog general. Inu no Taisho dodged it perfectly, jumping up and avoiding the huge sausagey thing. But suddenly, the lizard's tail changed course in midair. Unable to foresee this, Inu no Taisho could not dodge it again. It hit him square in the face and sent him flying, barely landing on his feet. He stood there huffing and puffing, bleeding from the mouth.

The beastly lizard was about to launch another very different attack. Inu no Taisho could see the black coloured demonic aura around it form delicate spirals. Then, all of the black aura grouped together into a huge ball of energy. This energy was aimed at the unfortunate dog general, and thrown at him with unbeatable accuracy.

"I change my mind," Inu no Taisho mumbled, wiping the blood off his face, "I think Tetsusaiga is still more useful!"

He gripped the hilt of his old sword, pulled it out and thrust it straight at the beast's demonic aura attack.

"Bakuryūha!" He screamed, as he cut right into the big black ball of energy.

The evil ball of energy became wrapped in a blue cloud, and the next moment it was hurled right back at the face of its creator. The force of the lizard's homicidal attack hitting its face was so great that the very ground shook. Soon, the demon met a sad end, and died without a resting place for his remains...because he had no remains.

Once the beast and the artificial earthquake were gone, Inu no Taisho stumbled up to the limp and unmoving body of the princess he loved.

"Oh, Inukimi," He said helplessly, "Wake up!"

He shook her gently by her shoulders, but got no reply.

"No, don't die..."

He fell on his knees in front of her, feeling more hopeless than ever. He noticed that her clothes were all dusty and there was blood on the back of her neck.

_I'm such a hopeless person, how could I have let her die?_

"Anou...Taisho-dono?" A voice said behind Inu no Taisho.

The dog general turned around to see a young woman with her black hair pinned back, dressed in a very strange looking pink outfit. Her figure was familiar to him somehow, and he felt as if he had met her somewhere. But he couldn't remember ever hearing her voice before.

"Your sword," The girl said, holding out Inu no Taisho's blunt sword to him, "You dropped it. It's a good sword, so I thought you'd want it back."

Inu no Taisho took the sword from the young woman, puzzled as to who she was.

"This sword sure is useful," She said, "But it has an ugly name. Coffin Cheater? I thought of a better name. It looks like a tooth and it can save people, so I called it the Fang of Rebirth."

Turning back to Inukimi, Inu no Taisho mumbled, "The Fang of Rebirth? Tenseiga?"

The sword pulsated immediately, as if it was answering to its name. Inu no Taisho grinned.

"Thank you!" He said, turning around, "Huh?"

The young woman was gone. She was absolutely nowhere to be seen, despite that she was right beside him just a moment ago. It was as if she had never been there in the first place. Then, Inu no Taisho suddenly remembered. She was the same girl he saved from Inukimi that night!

_Just who is she?_

Raising his Tenseiga, Inu no Taisho stared down at the body of Inukimi. Then he stood there unmoving. He couldn't believe his own eyes.

_The pall-bearers, I can't see them. Why? Why?_

No matter how many times he blinked or how carefully he looked, he could not see any little purple critters.

_Am I too late? No! Why? Why can't I see them?_

Not lowering his sword, Inu no Taisho gritted his teeth, but could not accept what was happening. He hung his head in grief, before his eyes started getting watery.

"Hey, baka!" A voice suddenly blurted out, "Put that sword down! Can't you wait till I'm dead?!"

Inu no Taisho jumped. If he didn't have eyelids, then his eyeballs would have fallen out of their sockets and be rolling around on the ground by now.

Inukimi sat up and stared in disgust at the dog general who was about to chop her with a strangely blunt sword, despite having said that he doesn't hurt women.

"Why you!" Said Inukimi angrily, "I thought you-"

She was cut off by Inu no Taisho, who suddenly grabbed her and hauled her into his arms. He held her so tightly that she could hardly breathe. He just had to make sure that she was real, that she was really alive and well.

"I'm so glad you're alright..."

"Baka! You thought I was dead?" Inukimi said, pulling away from him, "What are you doing here anyway? What do you want with me?"

Inu no Taisho blushed. What did he want with her? How could he say it? Despite practicing the same sentence for hours with two dozen different boulders, Inu no Taisho was certainly not ready to say it to her face.

Inukimi shook her head at him.

"If you do not have any business with me, then I should be returning home. My father will be worried."

Inukimi turned her back on the dog general and prepared to leave. Just as she was about to take off, Inu no Taisho suddenly grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"Inukimi," He said shyly, "I've got something I want to give you, I think you'll like it."

The dog general started rummaging around the inside of his kimono. Inukimi stared at him. He fumbled for ages but couldn't find what he was looking for.

_I remembered I put it here! Don't tell me I've lost it! This is my one and only chance!_

"Is it this?" Inukimi said with a sly look on her face. She held out a big shiny gem, as blue as the sea.

"Hey!" Screamed the flabbergasted dog general, "When did you take that off me?"

"Well, when one is too focused on their own plan, they can neglect important details!" Inukimi repeated Inu no Taisho's words with a rich lady laugh.

"Those are my words! Give me back that stone!"

"If you can get it!"

Inukimi ran out of the bush and changed into her dog-demon form. She flew at the sky, leaving the poor Inu no Taisho to chase after her. He followed her, also transforming to his true form and running across the air.

The golden morning light shone over the land. It illuminated the green hills, the rivers and the farms. The beautiful scenery was perfectly lit up, and up in the air, Inu no Taisho could see it clearly. But he could hardly care about such things. He was huffing and puffing, following after the elegant white dog in front of him. Speed was never Inu no Taisho's strength, and that fact made him disadvantaged when it came to chasing people.

He was completely exhausted from so much running. Just as he felt like his heart was going to give out, he took one more look at the white dog in front of him. That moment, he knew what he wanted.

Inukimi was still running at full speed, turning back once in a while to look at the cute love-stricken puppy who was chasing her. Just as she was about to charge forwards at full speed again, she heard his voice.

"Marry me, Inukimi!"

Inukimi's eyes opened wide, and her jaw dropped. Those words were so despicably unbelievable that they stopped her dead in her tracks. This was, of course, just what Inu no Taisho wanted. Before Inukimi realized it, he had caught up to her. Unable to put on the brakes in time, Inu no Taisho ran straight into Inukimi, sending them both cascading to the ground.

Changing back to their humanoid forms in mid air, they plummeted straight into a meadow of tall grass. Inu no Taisho fell on his back in the soft grass, and Inukimi fell on top of him.

Inukimi, clearly dissatisfied, got up and off the dog general, and was about to run off clenching her fists in anger. Just as she took her first step away from the guy who deeply annoyed her, Inu no Taisho tripped her up by pulling her other ankle, and she fell back on top of him. Before Inukimi could object and start a yelling battle, Inu no Taisho grabbed her shoulders and gave her a sharp tug towards him.

Their lips crashed together... and Inukimi tried to scream.

Pulling away from the dog general once again, she screeched in his face, "What the hell do you think you're doing, you jerk!"

She punched him hard on the chest, before raising her hand again, about to slap his face.

"Sometimes, in order to obtain what you want, you must use crafty methods," Inu no Taisho said with a grin, repeating Inukimi's words and getting her back for using his words earlier.

This was surprising and made Inukimi lower her hand, deeply impressed at the dog general's great memory and quick wit. She decided to save the slap for later.

"I'm sorry," She said rather sarcastically, "Does it hurt? Where I hit you."

"Nope, not at all."

Inukimi stared into the dog general's beautiful eyes. They were an orangey yellow, similar to her own but much lighter. The colour of his eyes matched that of the rising sun. Then, to Inu no Taisho's surprise, Inukimi closed her eyes, leaned in closer to him, and kissed him properly.

Inu no Taisho thought he was going to pass out.

The tall grass, trees and mountains in the distance formed a perfectly peaceful background, framing the foreground like a painted portrait. All that could be heard was the chirping of birds, and the flowing water of a nearby river. There could not be a more tranquil and relaxing environment.

Inukimi lay on top of Inu no Taisho for a long time. She never wanted to leave his warm embrace.

"Will you come and live with me in my castle, as my wife?" He finally asked her, "I love you, Inukimi. Rest assured, you are my one and only."

Inukimi did not reply immediately, but wrapped her arms around him, rubbing her fur on his. They lay together, looking up at the clear sky. And finally, Inukimi truly understood what her father had meant by telling her to join the east and west. She lay still, feeling more at peace than ever before.

Neither of them could even imagine in their wildest dreams that eventually, Inu no Taisho would cheat on Inukimi and die in a man-made housefire.

As mentioned, not every romance lasts till death do them part, and not every love story has a happy ending.

~~The End~~

**Thank you for reading this story, I really appreciate it!**  
**Please review my story honestly.**  
**And Merry Christmas! Don't forget to spend plenty of time with friends & family.**  
**Have a great Summer/Winter holiday!**

**-Ezekiellia, author of this fanfic.**


	8. Epilogue

**Note: This epilogue is just for fun and not part of the story, the proper** **story ended at the last chapter.**

Earlier, Totosai and Myoga had arrived at the place that was once a beautiful palace. Now it was in ruins, with remnants of what had been the product of a huge housefire. They found no traces of the great dog general, but among the debris were three swords. They were deeply saddened, but after a long discussion of what to do with the swords, they felt raindrops upon their faces, and left for shelter.

Rain poured from all the edges of the sky, and washed away the remaining flames. The land was silent and lifeless, all that could be heard was the falling of the heavy rain.

In the distance, distorted by the weather, was the figure of a person. A young woman, wearing a strange pink outfit and black shoes, holding an umbrella. She silently approached the final resting place of the great dog general.

"Taisho-dono...your family and your swords have found a safe home. Although pitiful, you died an honorable death. You will be missed...by many."

The girl bent down and parted the wet soil beneath the ash. There, she gently planted a small bunch of cherry blossoms, before stepping back and allowing the rain to feed the beautiful flowers.

"But I'm not sure," She said with a slightly sadder tone, "If you, or any of the ones who appreciate you, ever acknowledged that although you sacrificed yourself for the ones you love, Izayoi was not the only woman in the world who needed you. May this be the end to the tragic love story. Rest in peace, Taisho-dono."

The woman bowed to the debris as a last sign of respect to the great dog general. The clouds covered the sky, darkening the environment. Clear drops of water slid down the elegant pink petals of the tiny cherry blossoms. The land was once again silent and lifeless, and all that could be heard was the sound of the falling rain.

The young woman was nowhere to be seen, as if she had never been there in the first place.


End file.
